In India, where infrastructure meets biodiversity-rich environments, railway-wildlife collisions are a significant conservation and safety problem. Seven elephants were killed when a high-speed train in Assam collided with a group of wild Asiatic elephants on December 20, 2025. This case-based study incorporated operational, technological and environmental factors. The collision site was outside the area of AI-based Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), and the results showed that fog, nighttime operations, and forest cover greatly decreased visibility. The IDS relies on human interaction and operates below Level 4 autonomy, causing significant delays. Elephant movements were not captured by static corridor mapping. To align technology and animal conservation with India's sustainable development goals, multimodal sensing, increased coverage, adaptive speed control, and improved autonomy must be blended with human oversight.